Miss ya, Europe!

Hey everyone! Being back home has been nice, but I really do miss traveling around Europe with my study abroad homies. There have been too many times that I have started to tell a story about my summer and it starts with, “When I studied abroad this summer…”. I think my friends are finally getting to the point where they are tired of hearing about my study abroad adventures, but they are too nice to say anything about it. Just thinking about my study abroad experience makes me happy. I also am so happy that I’ve stayed in contact with the friends I made. 

The program as a whole was honestly so impressive. I had so many once in a lifetime experiences that I will never forget. I look back on all of our class excursions with fond memories and reflect on how much I learned, academically and personally. I loved all of the learning we did while traveling, how we learned about the plague while walking around Vienna, and how we saw many anatomical model collections while in Berlin. This history of medicine aspect was artfully integrated into a lot of what we did. The few weeks of pharmacology was also really interesting. I loved how the class was more discussion and analysis based, rather than requiring students to memorize random pharmaceutical structures. I learned a lot about the set-up of the pharmaceutical industry and the moral debates involved with pharmaceutical manufacturing and experimentation. Every night that we were in Bonn and ate dinner with our host mom, we would come down stairs into the kitchen to help her put things on the table and she would be watching American news. It was interesting and a persistent trend that many Germans were so interested in American news and politics. I gained a new appreciation for being informed and realized the vast impact that America has on the globe. 

My expectations of the program were simply to make friends. And to say my expectations were exceeded is an understatement. I experienced so many cultures and saw so many sights that were absolutely breathtaking. I almost can’t even put into words how much fun I had while traveling. The program was not what I expected but in the best way possible. The study aspect of studying abroad was informative and captivating. It wasn’t like a traditionally classroom set up where there is potential for boredom. The lectures were always entertaining and there was always another excursion to look forward to. 

My Hero’s Journey was definitely transformative. There were some hard times whenever I was homesick or feeling very tired from sleepless nights from weekends of too much adventuring. I think that I was definitely transformed over the program. I feel more independent and confident. I liked being able to navigate the tram and train systems while also researching and booking hotels and hostels. This summer I also learned a lot about team work. Every weekend and during the class excursions we traveled as a group so figuring out where to go, where to stay, and what to do was always a group effort. It was also really interesting to see everyone’s strengths shine through. Some people were good at figuring out cool places to go and some people knew the best and cheapest places to stay. It was a really encouraging experience too because everyone was pretty easy going! The end of my Hero’s Journey was my return to the ‘known’ of Houston, Texas. It was pretty sweet because my sister, niece, and nephew who live in North Carolina came for a surprise visit and my nephew was there to surprise me at the airport, so that was so sweet! 

my lil cutie nephew surprising me at the airport!

Overall, the History of Medicine program was highly impressive, exceeded all of my expectations, and allowed me to have some of the best experiences abroad that I could never have even imagined.